After the surprise hit that was Arkham Asylum back in 2009 we knew that Arkham City wouldn't catch us off guard again. I'm very happy to report that if you loved Arkham Asylum, Arkham City will not disappoint you.
Arkham City's story revolves mainly around the mad scientist Hugo Strange and the Joker. Both are in Batman's face for most of the story and are without a doubt the main villains along with one other antagonist that I won't reveal for spoiler reasons. I enjoyed the story but felt that way too many characters were shoe-horned in just for the sake of it. A few like Mr Freeze really came out well in the overall arc but a few others were made to look like bit part players. I would of preferred if some characters were merely referenced and not just made to look like they aren't even a real threat to Batman which is what happened here.
Rocksteady tread quite closely to Arkham Asylum's plot line, revisiting many parts of the original including the Scarecrow sequences. While the Scarecrow doesn't make it in this game, Rocksteady tried to replicate the wonderful hallucination sequences but unfortunately missed the mark here. While they are good in their own right nothing had me close to a 'wow' moment like the original did time and time again.
The combat system has been slightly refined and still remains the best hand to hand combat in gaming. The counter and melee combo's still work well but thrown into the mix are different counter actions for knifes, riot shields and even different enemy types. It really keeps you on guard at all times and makes getting a higher combo tougher than in the original. But once you get the hang of things there really is nothing quite like the satisfaction of taking out ten guys with a 40 hit combo.
While we were told that Batman would have a sprawling world to cover it's not quite 100% true. Yes it is free roam but it's the same type of free roam we had in the first game. The world is open to you from the start but unless you have certain abilities you won't be able to explore very far. I"m perfectly fine with this, the pacing in visiting new areas was good and it shouldn't upset unless you wanted GTA Batman. Arkham City is bigger than Arkham Asylum but in some places it's more difficult to navigate and the map doesn't really help in some situations, especially when searching for Riddler trophies (of which there are 440). Batman's main way of moving quickly is via his grappling gun and of course his cape. Both work well and you can easily make your way from one end of the map to the other in about two minutes. It doesn't sound long but it's really down to how quick your able to move.
I enjoyed Arkham City but I have to admit I didn't enjoy it as much as the first game. When you make a game that comes from left field and is amazing it's even more difficult to follow it up. I love the way Arkham City is a love letter to the Batman universe and I have learned so much more about it all by playing but it just didn't grab me all the way through like Arkham Asylum did.
The story was so-so and it didn't really give me the urgency I needed to want to carry on, the ending was slightly flat although it does finish with a controversial moment. The side missions were well done and felt just as important as some of the main missions but there just weren't as many as I'd hoped for.
All in all Batman: Arkham City is a well polished game that is certainly one of my gaming highlights this year so far. It should be on all of your playlists but just don't expect an Arkham Asylum beater, it came close, but not close enough.
8.5
